Mary Queen of Scots (2018) Movie Review

MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS (2019) MOVIE REVIEW

Historical inaccuracies are something far from new to the silver screen. For years, Hollywood has been making movies that attempt to present a new twist on numerous tales over history. Whether it be Robin Hood or religious events, there seems to be no event too significant to alter. In the case of "Mary Queen of Scots", while there are many events altered to favour the film, it still tries to coexist alongside trying to be that next big historical biopic. And in the end, that unfortunately ended up being director Josie Rourke's biggest downfall. 

As the name suggests, the film follows Mary Stuart as she tries to overthrow her cousin Queen Elizabeth I, Queen of England, several years prior to being executed by her adversary's hand. Not much to say about the plot here as the overall arc is structured decently but as for the pacing? Well thats a different story. Easily my biggest critique of the movie was that of the pacing. At times the movie would flow exceptionally and tell the story as it probably should have been. Plus alot of times the movie will implement tedious time skips and it just doesn't mesh well with the rest of movie, leaving the viewer confused at times frustrated as you try and catch up with what time frame we are in and how many years have actually passed between scenes. 

Containing such an elite level cast, you can't help but be excited. And for the most part, it's hard to disagree on the acting side of things. Saoirse Ronan, Guy Pearce, David Tennant. All award deserving talents yet all are overshadowed by one woman, Margot Robbie. Robbie exquisitely portrays the strong and cunning Queen of England and it's a real shame you don't see too much of her throughout the film's runtime as we see are only shown short scenes of her not even periodically. Though thankfully, towards the end of the movie, we are shown more and more of her and her relations with her cousin Mary portrayed by Saoirse Ronan whom also does a great job as the leading woman. Regarding it's two oscar nominations, it wouldn't be fair to simply overlook them as the makeup, hairstyling and costume design are easily one of the highlights. Each set manages to look beautiful and true to the era with particular props going to the designers behind Mary and Elizabeth's costume design as both looked proper and made to be rulers of their respective lands. 

Overall, despite numerous flaws in the plot and directorial issues in not quite knowing it wanted to be, the film wasn't terrible. Saved by great actings from our two leads and set designs that keep your attention without even realising, it's safe to say that without these two key features, Mary Queen of Scots would have ended up being worse off than Mary by the film's climax. 

OVERALL

5 / 10

Black Panther (2018) Movie Review

BLACK PANTHER (2018) MOVIE REVIEW

Releasing mid February, Black Panther quickly became one of the most anticipated Marvel films to be released and even quicker became one of the most popular superhero films of all time. Alot of this was due to the message Black Panther presented to audiences everywhere as for the most part the film featured an all black cast, unheard of for alot of films today let alone a superhero one. Black Panther would garner box office and critical success, giving Disney an easy opening to push the movie for several nominations at the Oscars. Which the academy would abide. Everyone seems to love Black Panther for its characters, story and message it presents. Well...almost everyone. 

After the death of his father, heir to the throne T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) returns home to the technologically advanced kingdom of Wakanda looking to take over as king and lead his people to a new and better future. However when a figure  from his past conspires to take the throne, T'Challa must once again dawn the identity of the Black Panther to defeat this treacherous foe and keep his people and country safe. After viewing the film, I did notice many glaring similarities between this movie and of all media, Shakespeare's Hamlet. While not the first Disney movie to take plot elements from such a historic play, the other being The Lion King, it does really work in this sense as the main plot points of the play are implemented seamlessly and work in Black Panther's favour. Overall, the plot is one of the film's major strong points and keeps a steady pace throughout.  

Despite the story being solid, there unfortunately, is alot in Black Panther that leaves little to be desired. Some will disagree but I found majority of the performances to be underwhelming. Don't get me wrong Chadwick Boseman does a fine job in his portrayal of the Marvel superhero but nearly everyone else feels bland and stale. Veteran actors like Forest Whittaker and Martin Freeman I expected some level of "excitement' behind their performances but in my eyes, their characters gave them a handicap which they could not come back from, Martin Freeman in particular. These weren't my least favourites in the film though as Oscar winning actress Lupita Nyong'o was given the task of portraying one of the most annoying characters in the film, Nakia. Her presence throughout the movie frustrated me to no end and actually managed to bring my interest in the film down as she would promptly deliver cringe-worthy and just unfunny lines on a consistent basis. 

Don't fear because not all the performances given are underwhelming. Easily the standout in the movie was the villain, Erik Killmonger (brilliantly portrayed by Michael B. Jordan). Whenever he comes on screen, Jordan manages to exude charisma and make any scene involving Killmonger be focused directly on him. This was also helped by the writers by giving him good material to work with, unlike other characters in the movie. Aesthetically, the movie looks great for the most part and makes the viewer believe that a world like Wakanda could conceivably exist. Although some fight scenes take place in a CGI ridden arena which look like something out of a Eiffel 65 music video. 

Now despite everything I've said, I don't hate Black Panther. This Marvel film while not my favourite, it is far from my worst. The movie does alot right but it just does too much wrong me to say that I like it let alone being worthy of seven Oscar nominations. With a strong story and underwhelming performances, the movie does have a strong message which is conveyed phenomenally throughout. And ultimately, I can't fault the movie for that.

OVERALL

6 / 10